MORNING REPORT

Exit Lines

June 24, 1987| Arts and entertainment reports from The Times, national and international news services and the nation's press

Red Skelton on contemporary comedians: "Today's comics use four-letter words as a shortcut to thinking. They're shooting for that big laugh and it becomes a panic thing, using four-letter words to shock people. You'll laugh, but when you leave and your dignity returns, you say, 'Why?' I know more dirty jokes than any guy who ever lived. But I don't do them on stage. I have too much respect for my audience."